(Yicai Global) June 8 -- Shares in Changzhou Fusion New Material surged as much as 11.4 percent today after the Chinese chemical additives supplier said it will invest CNY1.2 billion (USD168.1 million) to build a factory that makes electronic-grade silver powder, a key raw material used in photovoltaic cells.

Fusion New Material’s share price [SHA:688503] was trading up 5.4 percent at CNY74.28 (USD10.40) as of 1.30 p.m. China time today. Earlier in the day it hit CNY78.44

The new facility, which will be located in Fusion New Material’s base of Changzhou, eastern Jiangsu province, will produce 3,000 tons of electronic-grade silver powder, a year, it said yesterday. Construction will start before the end of the year, by which time the company should have secured the land, and will last 18 months.

Up until now, China has many relied on imports of silver powder, which is used in conductive pastes that help with a solar cell’s metallization. The better the quality of the silver, the better the photo-electric conversion of the PV cells.

The project will guarantee domestic supply of electronic-grade silver powder, expand the company’s product portfolio and enhance its core competitiveness, Fusion New Material said.

Editor: Kim Taylor